Love At First Sight

I walked into the store this morning

with no real intention of purchasing anything,

just lookin' around...

and there I saw him.

He was perfect,

his eyes drew me to him like

deep . . . dark . . . chocolate

and seemed to pierce my soul with their

u n b l i n k i n g...s t e a d i n e s s .

My heart began to melt into a puddle within me,

My knees buckled weakly

and it seemed for a moment as if I would collapse

completely overwhelmed by a sense of instantaneous devotion

to him

and him alone...



.......




photo credit
And someday, he'll be all mine!
:)

Happy Halloween, Everyone!Partaaay it up and have a fabulous weekend!

Oh Oprah

What will we do with this lady?

Did you see >>this<< today?

Thank you, Oprah!

Reflection

Last Saturday, an amazing man and former member of my bishopric was called home to the care of his Heavenly Father. My heart aches for his wife and family at this tragic loss. I continually have the sweet recollection of lessons that he taught me both through His profound words and loving example. He is now home, with his son and daughter, in the loving and watchful care of our Heavenly Father. I am confident in Heavenly Father's timing and plan for each of us, His children. Death is not the end of a journey, merely a passageway from life to the rest of eternity.
At this passing, I have felt the inclination to step back and evaluate my own life. Our time here on Earth is precious, and yet, what do we do with it? Surely watching "Supernanny" has no direct influence in my progression toward things of eternal significance and value. My fear is not in the brief sting of death, but in the day-by-day construction of life. If Heavenly Father were to call me home tomorrow and ask,

"What did you do with the life that I gave to you," what would I say?
"Well...I read a lot of great blogs for hours on end and I slept in almost everyday till at least 8 am..."

Heaven forbid! I'd like to stand with confidence and proclaim of valuable friendships, loving service, growth of intelligence, raising of righteous family, unashamedly sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atoning sacrifice for each of us. It's almost hilarious to think that I need a reminder to prioritize these things into my daily schedule.
Of course Heavenly Father understands my imperfections, but that does not hide the fact that He expects more of me. Our potential to be like Him is infinite and amazingly overwhelming, but what good is our potential if we don't try. That is the cycle of progression in life: trying, failing, trying again, succeeding, raising the bar . . .
So, it is time again for me to raise the bar. To be better tomorrow than I was today. To regain my footing on the staircase of progression and center my life in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am certainly not perfect, but I know that anything is possible through our Savior. The prophet Ammon said it beautifully when he wrote:

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. (Alma 26:12)

Heavenly Father loves everyone of us and has blessed us with this abundant and beautiful life.What will you do with yours?

Stay Well

I got this email today and, as is the case with all emails I post, I found that it was worthy to pass on to all of you.

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital ,Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected o ne. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Be healthy, everyone! x0x0

*photo credit

The Blue Bombers

This handsome group of little gentlemen are my brother's soccer team. Last Saturday I had the opportunity of taking their team pictures and watching my two nephews run around the soccer field. Let me tell you, they are pro...and stinkin adorable. See...
The final prints won't be in sepia tone, but I love the idea of looking at old team pictures, like this (photo credit). Let's be honest, I'm obsessed with old photos like this:

This is my nephew running the ball down the field like a streak of blue lightning (proud aunt moment).

Travis

This is my male model friend...

Ok, ok he just happens to look and dress like a male model.

Thank you everyone for your patience while I edit your fabulous pictures.

Busy time of year, but we're getting 'er done!

Autumnesque

This weekend isn't over and I have already done some fabulously fun things!

Yesterday Travis and I went to Memory Grove and shot pictures for a couple hours. Lots of fun! I've been wanting to capture this beautiful season for a while, so I'm glad we got to do it.

Thanks Trav!










And of course we did some portraits. More photos of Travis here
Travis is pro, you should check out his photography blog here
Then, Nicole and I got all dressed up for a "pre-ween" party!

Doesn't get much better than Cruella and a peacock!

Happy Harvest, cute people!

Love, Leprosy, Lipstick & Lingo

Did you know that

"101 Dalmatians" and "Peter Pan" are the only two Disney animated movies

with both parents present and alive throughout the movie.

The other day I learned that 0 points in tennis is referred to as "love"

because (ideally) you just play for the love of the game.

Yesterday I was talking on my cellphone and my earrings kept clinking against it.

That was obnoxious...like trying to talk over a really loud wind chime.

Have you ever made pancakes with a turkey baster?

I highly recommend it!

This H1N1 thing really has people freaked out.

Last week when I was sick, I'd cough aloud (into my elbow, of course)

and, the way people looked at me, you'd think I had leprosy.

I don't, by the way...

Speaking of which, did you know that

Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy?

Today, I bought some awesome red lipstick.

It's for my Halloween costume (stay tuned, it's gonna rock),

but I can't help but wonder if I could pull it off in real life...

You know how it is with lipstick,

some people should just avoid the red!

Jiffy, aside from being my favorite brand of peanut butter,

is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

Have you ever noticed how some things are just

not as fun when you "have to" do them?

Like, for me, playing the piano.

I did not like taking lessons growing up so I quit,

(well, technically I got fired) but now I play everyday.

Why don't spelling and grammar matter when you're texting and IMing?

i.e. " wut r u ^ 2 dawg "

Do we have to find the lazy-way-out of every intelligent thing in this world,

I mean really...

In fact, I proof read everything that I write,

Papers, emails, blog posts, messages, texts.

I'll probably fix this post at least 15 times before I leave it alone

(I've published and "unpublished" it about 6 times already).

Have something random to say?

Leave a comment!

Love y'all!

*Some of these random facts learned from these guys.